Nigeria among countries where journalists are killed with impunity

The Committee to Protect Journalists 2014 Global Impunity Index has featured Nigeria as one of the countries where journalists are killed with impunity. The CPJ said a steady rise in unsolved murders in recent years in the country landed Nigeria on its Impunity Index for the second year in a row. “Since 2009, five Nigerian journalists have been targeted and killed while no perpetrators have been brought to book. The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has shown no resolve to improve its rate of justice in media killings, instead downplaying CPJ’s Index findings,” it said.

It added that a presidential spokesman told one daily newspaper that the survey “promotes sensationalism, rather than the truth” and is “not a true reflection of journalists in the country.” He blamed journalist deaths on the crossfire of Boko Haram activities in the North. Militant groups like Boko Haram are indeed responsible for many journalist fatalities in Nigeria, but not all. “News editor Bayo Ohu was shot at his front door by six unknown assailants in retaliation, colleagues believe, for his reporting on local politics. Nigeria is second only to Somalia in terms of Africa’s worst record on unpunished journalist murders,” CPJ said.

Syria has also joined the list of countries where journalists’ murders are most likely to go unpunished, while Iraq, Somalia, and the Philippines once again were the worst offenders, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index. Convictions in four countries represented a glimmer of good news.

Growing international concern over the absence of justice in media attacks prompted strong attention from the United Nations last year. UNESCO kicked off the implementation of the U.N. Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, a framework adopted in 2012. In November, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution on safety of journalists. The resolution calls for states to act to pursue justice and recognizes November 2 as the International Day to End Impunity. No significant progress has been made yet in Mexico’s 16 unsolved cases.

Other countries mentioned in the CPJ’s Impunity Index include: Russia, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico and Afghanistan.